Renegade Writers is a writers’ group that meets every Wednesday (7.00pm-9.30pm), now in a private room in the Red Lion, 18 Stoke Old Road, Hartshill Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST4 6ES.

All genres are covered (no poetry). The group is open to all writers, aspiring and published, who wish to meet like-minded folk, discuss their work, have a drink and a chat, have an evening with friends. Group members read out work in progress and offer constructive advice in a supportive environment. Entry is free.

To contact Renegade Writers, send an email to renewriters [at] gmail [dot] com or follow them on the Renegade Writers’ Facebook page or on Twitter (@renegadewriters) for updates. You can find out more on the Renegade Writers blog HERE

The next meeting is on 9 May 2012.

Spectral Press are seeking submissions to their Christmas Ghost Story Annual 2012. They are looking for ghostly/supernatural tales of between 5,000 and 10,000 words, set around the time of the Christmas/mid-winter celebrations. They state: “Think of the kind of thing that M.R. James and Charles Dickens would have written at this time of year and you’ll be on the right track. The stories should primarily rely on atmosphere, tension, suspense, suggestion and implication to send shivers down peoples’ spines: whilst we are not averse to something of the more visceral kind (provided it works within the context of the story), we are not looking for slasher/unhinged psychopath with a sharp instrument/serial killer or gore-filled fiction.”

The deadline for submission of stories is 30 June 2012. All stories must be original, with the copyright belonging to the author in question, and must not have been published or submitted elsewhere. There will be a token payment for each story plus a physical copy of the book for each author.

For further details and full submission guidelines see the website HERE

Although his short story writing workshop on 19 May 2012 is now fully booked, award-winning writer, editor and competition judge, Allen Ashley, will be holding another similar workshop on Saturday 16 June 2012 from 2pm to 5pm at Trinity-at-Bowes, Palmerston Road, London N22 8RA.

This is your chance to improve your short story writing with guaranteed personal feedback from a specialist in the field. The afternoon will consist of a practical workshop for all short story writers, whether beginners or published writers. Topics covered will include: getting started; generating ideas; beginnings; middles; endings; useful writing exercises; practical tips; avoiding pitfalls; and preparing your work for submission.

The fee for the workshop is £20 and booking is essential. To book your place please email Allen at allenashley-writer [at] hotmail [dot] co [dot] uk

Stumar Press are delighted to open their doors to unsolicited submissions for an ongoing horror anthology series Ten Terrors. Each volume in the series will contain ten horror stories from established and emerging writers in the horror genre. The first volume (Winter 2012) will feature Graham Joyce, Mark Morris and eight other writers. Volume two (Spring 2013) will feature Tim Lebbon and nine other writers.

There’s no theme – other than the story needs to be a horror one. By horror, they mean the full breadth of the genre from gentle ghost stories to nasty pieces full of blood, guts and gore. The horror can deal with the psychological or the supernatural, with the fantastic or the normal.

Check out the guidelines HERE for more details.

Further to its announcement that it is seeking submissions for The Alchemy Press Book of Pulp Heroes edited by Mike Chinn, Alchemy is also seeking submissions for The Alchemy Press Book of Ancient Wonders edited by Jan Edwards and Jenny Barber.

“Standing stones, burial mounds, ruined castles or sunken settlements, the ancient sites that litter our landscapes have a mysterious appeal which cannot be denied. Think myth come to life; old folktales updated; the consequences of tomb raiding; hidden guardians and secret civilisations; from archaeology to tourism; mysticism and myth; folklore to the fantastical. Take us on a journey around the esoteric and enigmatic places that cannot fail to fire the imagination. Intrigue us, thrill us, make us wonder about the where, the what and the who.

We are interested in fantasy, SF, weird and horror tales of all kinds (no erotica, romance or poetry).”

The Alchemy Press Book of Ancient Wonders will be published in paperback in September 2012, to be followed by an ebook edition later. Contributions must be in the range of 2,000 – 6,000 words. The submission period runs from 1 April 2012 to 30 June 2012.

Full submission details HERE

A reminder that the BFS short story competition is now open. The word limit is 5,000 words. The submission period has started and closes on 30 June 2012. Prizes are as follows:

1st prize: £100, a year’s membership of the BFS, and publication in the BFS Journal.
2nd prize: £50, a year’s membership of the BFS, and publication in the BFS Journal.
3rd prize:£20

Entry is free for BFS members and just £5 per entry for non-members. Further details and full submission guidelines HERE. For any enquiries please email Allen Ashley on shortstorycomp@britishfantasysociety.org

***PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TIME PERIOD FOR MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE BRITISH FANTASY AWARDS HAS NOW CLOSED***

Also, the period for making recommendations for the British Fantasy Awards closes on 31 March 2012. If you haven’t yet made your recommendations now is the time to do so!

The voting form is available HERE

***PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TIME PERIOD FOR MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE BRITISH FANTASY AWARDS HAS NOW CLOSED***

Day tickets have now gone on sale for Alt.Fiction, the festival of SF, fantasy and horror, which takes place on 14 & 15 April 2012 at the Phoenix in Leicester.

The festival, run by Writing East Midlands, provides an opportunity for readers and writers to hear from their favourite authors, find out more about the world of publishing and learn more about the writing process, while networking with agents, publishers and other writers. There will be author readings, panel discussions, writing workshops, and much more.

To book a day ticket on either the Saturday or Sunday, or to book for the whole weekend, and to book a place on any of the workshops, visit the website HERE

Arc (the science fiction magazine from the publishers of New Scientist) has teamed up with The Tomorrow Project, Intel’s futurism project, to run a competition soliciting near-future stories with a heavy technological emphasis. The winning entry will be published in issue 1.2 of Arc due in May 2012, with the winning author receiving £500. £200 will also be paid to each of five runners-up, and those stories will then be published on the Tomorrow Project website and used to stimulate conversation about our shared future.

The publishers are looking for fully fleshed stories of between 3,000 and 5,000 words. By ‘near future’ they mean near enough to be recognisable, but not so near as to be boring. Technology, in whatever guise – from robotics to synthetic biology to geoengineering – should feature prominently, but they are looking for stories, not theses, and the human element will have to be compelling.

It is recommended that entrants read issue 1.1 of Arc for guidance on the approach required. Distinctive, thoughtful visions inspired by the theme are more likely to be successful. Arc 1.1 also explains the Arc / Tomorrow Project collaboration.

The deadline for entry to the competition is one minute to midnight GMT on 8 April 2012. Full details can be found in the Tomorrow Project section of Arc 1.1, or on the Arc submission page. Arc 1.1 is available now for Windows and Mac computers, iPads, iPhones and Android devices, as well as for Kindle and as a collectible print edition.

This July, QUAD in Derby brings together a host of leading science fiction, fantasy and horror writing for Edge-Lit, an exciting new day event for one of the city’s leading venues. The ideal day out for fans, readers and aspiring writers of genre fiction, Edge-Lit gathers together over thirty authors, agents and speakers for a wide range of workshops, panels, readings and much more.

There are many more leading names to be announced for the event, with the first two Guests of Honour for the 2012 event confirmed as Christopher Fowler and Geoff Ryman.

Christopher Fowler is a multiple award-winning author with thirty novels and twelve short story collections to his name. He is best-known for his Bryant and May mystery novels, with his most recent title in the series being Bryant and May and the Memory of Blood. Christopher has also written a number of successful thrillers, as well as the highly succesful graphic novel Menz Insana. His other credits include creating the War of the Worlds video game for Paramount, as well as running a successful film marketing company and writing for TV and film stars such as Kenneth Williams, Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan, Leslie Neilsen and the stars of Monty Python.

Geoff Ryman is an acclaimed author of science-fiction and fantasy, with his most recent title, The King’s Last Song, drawing stellar reviews. Other leading titles include Was…, Lust and Air, with his novels having claimed a host of awards including the British Science Fiction Award, World Fantasy Award, Arthur C. Clarke Award, The Philip K. Dick Award and many more. He is also a lecturer in Creative Writing at Manchester University.

Edge-Lit runs from 10am – midnight on Saturday 14 July 2012, with tickets just £25, including access to all activities on the day. For more information, and to book your tickets, visit the website HERE

BFS members Peter Coleborn and Jan Edwards will be running a writers’ workshop from 18 – 20 May 2012 at Westview Guesthouse, near Hay-on-Wye, the town that is built on books. The course runs for the entire weekend, and is all-inclusive with accommodation, meals and tuition included in the price.

Participants are invited to pre-submit up to 2,000 words of fiction (a short story or the start of a novel, but no poetry), for one-to-one feedback on Friday evening.

For full details, including how to book, please visit the website HERE